Koishiteru
by xAi-chanx
Summary: Gift!fic for Rinail. Sakura Mikan, when it comes to love, is about as dense as water. But when she steps into Gakuen Alice, she meets a mysterious, handsome boy her age who somehow makes her feel all these strange, tingly, and warm feelings. Just who is he? NatsuMikan threeshot. Slight AU, with lots of fluff. [HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RINAIL!] #9


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**Koishiteru**

_english translation_:

'**I'm In Love'**

_written by xAi-chanx_

_dedicated to Rinail_

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**Author's note:** This'll be over 8,000 words, of course including the second and the third/last chapter, merely because of two reasons: I was so excited to come back to FFN that I went a little overboard, and I needed to get my writing back to shape. It's been a really long time since I wrote, so I feel like I've already forgotten how to twist my words, paraphrase, narrate, describe… I don't even know if this new story of mine is good enough. I suppose I could turn it over to a beta, but it's a little too late for that, so please forgive me if there are any mistakes. Happy birthday again, Rinail! I hope you'll like it. The next chapter will be posted on Monday since I'm still not done with it yet. Oh, how embarrassing.

**Warning:** This is unbeta-ed. There may be grammatical mistakes. Please forgive me if there are any, though. I'm still not good in English yet, and I'm still learning.

**Claimer:** I own Koishiteru, but I don't get any profit from it.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gakuen Alice. It solely belongs to Higuchi Tachibana. I am merely borrowing her characters.

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**First Part**

**Scene I to III**

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**I.**

When Sakura Mikan stepped inside Gakuen Alice, she was instantly awed by the luxurious hallways and the elegant chandeliers hanging on the ceiling. She had just been enrolled this day, which was the first day of school. The man who had screened her was really nice, even though he was a bit eccentric. He seemed to be wearing gay clothing and light makeup. Sure, he was weird, but that was all. He was even kind enough to go get her schedule for her.

She vividly remembered his name. Narumi. He had said it to her the moment she walked into his office. He had asked her a few questions (well, okay, maybe more than that) and ushered her into the secretary's office in order for her to fill out some forms necessary for enrollment. Gakuen Alice was also famous for its discipline and education, not just its reputation for being the most prestigious school in Japan. Not only that, though. There had been talk going all over the countryside where Mikan lived that only special geniuses could get to go to that school. So, after hearing that, Mikan was so sure that she couldn't enter.

But now that she was enrolled, she pondered why she had been chosen specifically for entrance when one week ago she had just been walking around the city and breaking up what seemed to be a fight in the streets.

"This is so confusing…" Mikan wondered aloud. "I'm not a genius. I'm not special. Why am I here?"

While thinking about that in her head, she walked around the hallway, looking for a map. Since she had just been enrolled here, she was instructed to go find her dorm and unpack her things since it was a little too late for her to attend classes.

"Students aren't allowed in the hallways during class hours."

Mikan jolted at the voice and turned to the source. "Ah, _gomenasai_, I'm—"

She stopped short when she saw familiar dark hair and violet eyes. Those same violet eyes stared back, widening for only a fraction of a second before turning emotionless once again.

"You… You're…" Mikan lifted her hand, reaching out towards the person, but slowly, as if she were afraid to touch her. "You're… Oh my God… Hotaru!" And with that, she threw herself towards her childhood friend, tears falling freely from her eyes.

She felt her stiffen uncomfortably but she did not resist. Smiling at this, Mikan hugged her tighter, and not soon after did Hotaru slowly and hesitantly hug her back.

"Oh, Hotaru, I missed you so much…" Mikan mumbled.

"_Baka_…" Hotaru said almost affectionately. But then the moment was ruined when she added, "Let go of me. Your tears are staining my uniform."

Mikan laughed and obeyed. She knew that Hotaru wasn't good at situations like this, so she resorted to being cold and emotionless so that she could hide her true feelings.

"Ne, Hotaru!" Mikan pouted. "You never told me in your letters that you were in Gakuen Alice! And you…" Suddenly she had stars in her eyes. "You look so different now, Hotaru… Your hair… You cut it short! And your eyes… Whoa, they're so big… You look like a Japanese doll!" Mikan gushed.

"…You talk too much, idiot."

Mikan laughed again and saw Hotaru relax completely, looking comfortable with the atmosphere she was creating.

"Ah." Hotaru suddenly moved out of the way.

Mikan stared at her, confused. "Hotaru…?"

Hotaru didn't say anything.

Mikan started to take a step closer to her when she suddenly spotted a tall figure out of the corner of her eye making its way towards them. Curious, she squinted through the bright lights in the corridor and tried hard to make out the person's face.

When the figure was close, she could now see him clearly.

And _whoa_, was he the most handsome boy she had ever laid eyes on.

He had dark, unruly hair, its messy exterior only serving to make him look more attractive. He also had rare crimson eyes, the kind that's really clear and pretty. **[1]** He had smooth, creamy skin, and his uniform was surprisingly clean and unwrinkled but the top two buttons of his black vest were unbuttoned, revealing a small part of the white t-shirt he wore inside.

Mikan's mouth formed an 'o' in admiration. She was seeing a hot guy. And that hot guy was right in front of her. She had never been friends with one before.

Well, maybe now was the chance to try.

Skipping over to him, completely oblivious to Hotaru's warning glare from behind, Mikan held out her hand towards him and chirped, "Hi there! My name's Sakura Mikan. Pleased to meet you!"

The boy looked at her for only a moment before walking past her like she was a wall that needed to be dodged.

Mikan froze at his audacity, her outstretched hand unconsciously shaking in fury. Though she may not look like it, she had a really short temper when it came to rude people.

She was about to snap when she suddenly heard Hotaru sigh behind her.

"_Baka_," she said tonelessly. "That was Hyuuga Natsume, the most popular guy here in Gakuen Alice. He has a number of fan clubs and stalkers and the like. I suggest that you stay away from him if you don't want to get threatened by his annoying fangirls."

Mikan didn't reply. Instead, she pressed a hand against her chest, feeling instant sympathy instead of the earlier anger.

But there was something else. Something new and foreign. Something warm like the covers of her mattress when the night was cold and something tingly like a single jolt of electricity had run through her veins. It felt surprisingly good, scary, and exciting at the same time.

_Hyuuga Natsume…_

And that was the first time they met.

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**II.**

The blissful feeling of waking up on an amazingly soft bed made Mikan predict that today was going to be a good day.

Getting out (reluctantly) from her sweet haven, she walked into the bathroom and stared at her reflection in the mirror.

_This is it, Mikan. Your first day in Gakuen Alice awaits you._

After completing her morning ritual, she dressed into her school uniform, sported her hair into her signature two pigtails, grabbed her bag, and then ran out of her dorm room, almost forgetting to lock the door due to excitement.

Schedule in hand, Mikan walked through the hallway, glancing at the nameplates on each of the doors for the name CLASS B. When she almost reached the end of the hall, a tall boy with blond hair suddenly appeared out of nowhere and Mikan, having just turned her attention to her schedule, wasn't looking where she was going and bumped right onto the boy's shoulder.

"_Itai_!" Mikan cried, rubbing her nose. "This is what I get for not looking… Stupid me…"

"Are you all right?" a worried voice asked.

She laughed good-naturedly. "Ah, no, no! This is nothing, I—"

She was cut off by a hand lifting her chin up, causing her to be able to see eye to eye with the person she bumped into.

And suddenly her breath caught up in her throat.

She drank in the sight of the boy, the very prince-like boy with a complete set of features: wavy, clean-cut blond hair, gentle, charming blue eyes, a warm smile, and a voice that rang with utmost sincerity. She stared and stared at him, inwardly disappointed at the countryside for not having good-looking guys like the ones in her new school.

_He's the opposite of that Hyuuga Natsume…_

And just like that, the same warm, tingly feeling crept up in her body and gave her mild goosebumps.

Then Mikan found herself thinking of his crimson eyes, the way they looked at her with indifference and the way they lingered on her for a nanosecond longer before turning away. Was it normal for a person to be so… emotionless?

But then again, she _was_ bestfriends with one. But Hotaru, even though the occurrences were a bit rare, showed emotions, whether it was a flicker of warmth on her expression or a fleeting smile on her face. But Mikan, having known Hotaru really well when they were kids, knew better than that. Hotaru showed a bit of emotion every day, unlike Natsume, who was eerily and completely unreadable and impassive. But it was a bit early for Mikan to jump into that conclusion since she had just met him, but something inside her felt that that was the case, that Natsume rarely, very, very rarely, expressed his emotions.

When it came to Hotaru, it was a little difficult for others to perceive, but if they'd look closely and study the way she controlled her expressions, they would definitely know what kind of mood she was in. For Mikan, when she first saw Hotaru yesterday, the latter had been surprised, judging from the widening of her eyes for a fraction of a second, and she was also happy to see her. When she had spoken, her voice was flat, but Mikan could detect a hint of warmth in it.

And also… Hotaru had looked like she wanted to cry.

Mikan wasn't really sure about it, but when she had looked right into Hotaru's eyes, the very windows of her soul, she saw everything. She saw the truth, and that was why she hugged her. She knew her bestfriend. Hotaru was really happy and glad to see her.

Maybe she was lonely here…?

Mikan hadn't wanted to let her go that day because it had been eight long years since they last saw each other. It had been eight years since Hotaru was taken away from her to transfer to another school in the city. It had been eight years since they bade each other goodbye and Hotaru and her family then left the countryside. It had also been eight years since she last saw Hotaru's real, true smile.

Oh, how she wanted to see Hotaru again…

"…and your nose looks a little red. I'm really sorry."

Mikan blinked as she was taken back to reality. The boy's hand now wasn't on her chin, it was on her nose, lightly caressing it as if he were afraid to touch it.

"A-Ah!" Mikan said, blushing in embarrassment. "N-No, it's nothing to be concerned of! Really! I just wasn't looking where I was going. It was all my fault. I'm really sorry for bumping on your shoulder."

He looked at her for a long moment, his hand retracting from her face slowly.

Then he laughed.

Good-naturedly, of course. It sounded nice, rich, and melodious in Mikan's ears. She liked the boy immediately.

"Haha… Sorry about that," he said as he stopped laughing. He stretched his hand towards her, giving her a warm smile that made her smile back. "I'm Nogi Ruka. Nice to meet you."

She shook his hand. "Sakura Mikan. Nice to meet you, too!"

Then she turned her head to her right, suddenly remembering what she was here for, and looked at the third-to-the-last door where Ruka supposedly came from.

The nameplate read:

**CLASS B**

_NARUMI L. ANJO_

_Homeroom Teacher_

The door was wide open, and there, inside the classroom, at the back of the class, she saw _him_.

Hyuuga Natsume was staring right at her and Ruka.

She felt her heart race a bit more than usual.

What is this feeling?

Ruka, who was looking at the same direction she was looking at, abruptly let go of her hand and asked almost sheepishly, "Are you the new student?"

She turned to him and smiled, ignoring the same, mysterious feeling that occurred yet again inside her. "_Hai_."

That was the second time she met him.

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**III.**

"_Ohayou gozaimasu_! _Watashi wa Sakura Mikan desu_. _Douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu_!" Mikan said with a bright smile.

(_Good morning! My name is Sakura Mikan. Please be kind to me!_)

And suddenly, she was bombarded with questions.

"Where did you come from?"

"Is that a _Kansai_ dialect?"

"How old are you?"

"What kind of alice do you have?"

Mikan blinked, confused at the last question. "Well… I came from the countryside—"

"Ooooh…"

"—and since I'm from there, yes, I have a _Kansai _dialect—"

"Whoooooah..."

"—I'm sixteen years old—"

"Aaaaah…"

"—and, if I may ask, _what's an alice_?"

…

…

…

An ant could be heard walking inside the suddenly quiet classroom.

…

…

…

Narumi broke the silence.

"Ah, my bad… Hehehe… It seems I've forgotten to tell you what your alice is…"

Suddenly all hell broke loose.

"_Oi_, Naru! How could you bring someone without an alice here?"

"Isn't that against the rules?"

"This is outrageous!"

"Get her out of the school!"

Narumi turned serious. "Do you all think that I am incapable of my job? Sakura Mikan-chan here _has_ an alice. She just doesn't know about it. Now be quiet and sit down."

Surprisingly, the class obliged.

A girl with short dark green hair with several distinctive curly, long strands at the front spoke condescendingly, "What is her alice then?"

"That's for her to know and for you all to find out."

"_What_?" a number of students chorused.

"This is her test. She has to gain all of your acceptance before she will become fully enrolled."

"Narumi-sensei, you never told me anything about this te—" Mikan started.

"Basically, I will tell Mikan-chan what her alice is but I'll leave it up to her on how to control it. Then I'll also leave it up to you all to find out what her alice is and if you will accept her into this class," Narumi said, seemingly ignoring Mikan's confused comment. He turned towards a boy with spiky blond hair and said while smiling eerily, "_No cheating_, okay, Kokoroyomi-kun? No telling your classmates. Keep it all to yourself. I'll be watching."

Koko nodded grimly, but his ever-goofy smile was still present on his face.

Mikan, more confused than ever, turned to her teacher with pleading eyes. "Narumi-sensei, I—"

"This is pointless."

Mikan jolted at the familiar tone of voice and turned towards who she thought was its source.

And she was right. It was _Hyuuga Natsume_.

She wondered if it was her imagination when she heard someone faint after saying '_Natsume-sama_'.

"Ah, Natsume-kun," Narumi said, smiling. "And what part of this test is pointless, if I may ask?"

"All of it," he said flatly, all the while staring at Mikan with cold crimson eyes. "Especially _her_."

Mikan's hands clenched into a fist, slightly shaking in anger. How… How _dare_ he tell her that _she_ was _pointless_? And he had told her that _in front of the whole class_! Was he even human _at all_? She looked around the room, looking for something—_anything_—to appease her fury, even if it was just a little bit. She spotted Ruka, who was looking at her with an expression somewhat akin to sympathy, but other than that he was completely devoid of emotion. Mikan was slightly confused at this. Where was the gentle, kind boy that she met earlier? And why was he sitting next to Natsume? Were they friends?

Shaking her head mentally, she told herself that she could find out later and proceeded to scan the room.

Then she saw Hotaru.

Maybe her expression had changed, or maybe her eyes had sparkled beautifully, because some of her classmates were staring at her with wonder etched on their faces. But Mikan didn't care. All she saw was Hotaru, who was looking at her in annoyance and worry at the same time.

"Oi, _you_."

Mikan's patience was tested to the limit as she, yet again, stared at Natsume with an annoyed expression on her face. "_What_?" she snapped.

He stared at her for a moment, as if he were sizing her up. "I'll let you pass this test," he said flatly. "_But_ on one condition."

"And what is that condition?" _Oh yeah, two can play at this game, buster_.

The faintest hint of a smirk appeared on his face (Mikan had to blink twice to see if she were seeing things).

Then he said the seven words that made the whole class—excluding Hotaru (she was seething in anger)—gasp.

"_You're going to have to beat me._"

And that was the first time she hated him.

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**Koishiteru**

'**I'm In Love'**

First Part—End

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**Author's note:** And there you have it! Boy, was this really difficult to write. Aside from having such a tight schedule, I also had writer's block. Ugh, what a day. Anyway, did you like it, Rinail? Or was it as messy and uninteresting as I predicted it to be? Gosh, I seem really nervous.

**[1]**: It's a "fact" so I made it into present tense. It's not actually fact, but it's a made up fact. Oh man, I'm not really making any sense here. But you all get the idea, right?

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Please do drop a review, guys! I'd like to know what you all think, too.

_Thanks for reading._


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